Isle of Wight Randonnee
Discussion
DeuxCentCinq said:
S10GTA said:
Sweet. See you there. Have both the nice bike and the single speed with guards fitted ready to take.
Single speed? You have been to the IoW before? 
Cracking ride, despite the weather. Ended up driving and parking in town as the rain at 6am was biblical. Got the 7am ferry with a couple of friends and a handful of other riders, nothing like the normal 8am crossing.
Ferry docked at 8am and we headed off round the island in torrential rain and strong winds. The roads were really slippery so we took it very easy for the first half of the route, especially after witnessing some other riders who we were with crash after about 6 miles. As we got round to Niton area the cloud/fog closed in and you could barely see the rider in front, nor the top of Blackgang climb making it virtually impossible to gauge effort required. It was on the downhill that I noticed I'd almost worn out my rear brake blocks meaning I only had use of the front for the rest of the ride. Luckily as we hit Military rode the weather started to improve, roads became less slippy and was able to stay off the brakes more and more.
Similar story for the military rode climbs, you could only just see the verge which was a shame as the views are normally lovely. I'd normally take the gravel track but this year due to weather decided to take the detour into Yarmouth. We had a nice tailwind for the last bit which was welcomed by all. We were back in Cowes at 12.38 missing the ferry by 8mins. I, along with the bike was absolutely filthy, but an enjoyable ride none the less. Not entirely sure where to start cleaning the bike?!
Ferry docked at 8am and we headed off round the island in torrential rain and strong winds. The roads were really slippery so we took it very easy for the first half of the route, especially after witnessing some other riders who we were with crash after about 6 miles. As we got round to Niton area the cloud/fog closed in and you could barely see the rider in front, nor the top of Blackgang climb making it virtually impossible to gauge effort required. It was on the downhill that I noticed I'd almost worn out my rear brake blocks meaning I only had use of the front for the rest of the ride. Luckily as we hit Military rode the weather started to improve, roads became less slippy and was able to stay off the brakes more and more.
Similar story for the military rode climbs, you could only just see the verge which was a shame as the views are normally lovely. I'd normally take the gravel track but this year due to weather decided to take the detour into Yarmouth. We had a nice tailwind for the last bit which was welcomed by all. We were back in Cowes at 12.38 missing the ferry by 8mins. I, along with the bike was absolutely filthy, but an enjoyable ride none the less. Not entirely sure where to start cleaning the bike?!
Done it a few times before but managed to persuade Mrs Spydaman to come this year. Started at Yarmouth and had a contingency to turn off at Cowes down to Black Gang and do a shorter route if necessary. However Mrs S had other ideas and carried on past the turn off and onto the chain ferry at Cowes. Ok we'll carry on to Bembridge and if it's too far we can cut across the middle of the island back to Yarmouth. Stopped at Bembridge and agreed it's only 5 miles to the next stop then 10 miles then 20 to the finish. So eight hours later we're sat in a pub in Yarmouth congratulating ourselves that we've done it and ready to sign up for next year.
Spydaman said:
Done it a few times before but managed to persuade Mrs Spydaman to come this year. Started at Yarmouth and had a contingency to turn off at Cowes down to Black Gang and do a shorter route if necessary. However Mrs S had other ideas and carried on past the turn off and onto the chain ferry at Cowes. Ok we'll carry on to Bembridge and if it's too far we can cut across the middle of the island back to Yarmouth. Stopped at Bembridge and agreed it's only 5 miles to the next stop then 10 miles then 20 to the finish. So eight hours later we're sat in a pub in Yarmouth congratulating ourselves that we've done it and ready to sign up for next year.
Good work. I only ever do it in good weather though. If it's raining I prefer off-road.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff